Empires of the Fertile Crescent

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Presentation on theme: "Empires of the Fertile Crescent"— Presentation transcript:

2 Fertile CrescentStrip of fertile land begins at the Sinai Peninsula and arcs through Southwest Asia to the Persian Gulf.One of the most fertile places on Earth.Birthplace of Agriculture

3 Tigris and Euphrates RiverBegin in the hills of what is now turkey and flow southeast.At one point nearly 30 miles apart.At widest, Tigris-Euphrates River Valley = 250 miles apart.Mesopotamia “land between the rivers”Babylonia (southeastern part)

4 Cont…. Overflow often Canals and levees necessaryFlooding unpredictable in timing and severity.People of the valley viewed the gods as harsh and unpredictable.

5 Fertile Crescent historyTribes of nomadic herders lived off the grasses and other plant life.They often invaded, conquered, and established new empires.Over time they grew weak and new invaders took over.History = story of repeated migration and conquest.

6 SumerWhere the T and E flow into the Persian Gulf the soil is very fertile.This area was called Sumer.Origin of Sumerian culture.3000 BCE, used metals and developed writing called pictographs, or picture writing. (earliest known)

7 Wrote by pressing marks into clay tablets.Sumerian WritingWrote by pressing marks into clay tablets.Wedge shaped tool called a stylus.Cuneiform600 cuneiform signs

8 Architecture and ScienceInvented the arch. (curved structure over an opening. Very strong form of building)Ziggurats = Sumerian temples.(made of baked brick placed in layers.150 ft high. Top served as shrine to a Sumerian god.)May have been the first to use the wheel.Mathematics = system of numbers based on 60.60 min/ 60 sec.Lunar calendar/ add a month every few years.

9 Government and SocietyCity-state = a town or city and the surrounding land controlled by it. (Ur, Erech, and Kish)Rarely united under a single gov’t.Priest very important.City-states competed for land and water.Rise of war leaders who became kings.Kings, high priest, nobles  lower priests, merchants, and scholars  peasant farmers slaves.

17 Babylonian Culture Similar to Sumerians Most farmedDomesticated animalsArtisans, merchants, and tradersWomen had legal and economic rights, incl. property ownership. Could be traders, merchants, or even scribes.Polytheistic

18 The Hittites Invaded TandE valley in the 1600s BCEKept their own cultural valuesAmong first to smelt iron.Most imp. Achievement were laws and government.Only severe crimes received death penalty. Small crimes paid fine.Kings = chief priest, but allowed some religious freedomLooted Babylon but couldn’t control it.

19 The Assyrians Semitic speaking from northern MesopotamiaDrove out HittitesAdopted many elements of Sumerian Culture.dominated by others until 1300s BCEHowever, soon overrun by nomadic migrations.Recovered and b/w 900 BCE and 650 BCE, expanded powers across the Fertile Crescent and into Egypt.

21 The Assyrians Fierce warriors.Chariots, and first to use cavalry (soldiers on horseback).Enslaved captured people and killed enemy warriors.Deported whole populations to other regions.700 BCE, captured, looted, and completely destroyed Babylon.

22 The Assyrians One of first to effectively govern a large empire.King = absolute power.Only answered to the god Ashur.Governors ruled conquered lands and issued reports to the king.Capital city = Nineveh

23 NinevehFortified by double wall. (70 ft. high and 7.5 mi long)(148 feet wide w/ 15 gates)Great library.Epic of Gilgamesh = story of a Sumerian King and one of the oldest works of lit. known.

24 Fall of the Assyrian Empire635 BCE civil war broke out.Became too weak to resist invaders.612 BCE group of enemies led by the Chaldeans and the Medes captured and destroyed Nineveh.

25 The Chaldeans Took over much of Assyria’s empireNebuchadnezzar = led Chaldeans to conquer most of the Fertile Crescent. governed from the rebuilt city of Babylon from 605 BCE until his death in 562 BCEBabylon became powerful & wealthy again.Trade flourished, canals and buildings built.Hanging Gardens = kings beautiful terraced gardens.

29 The Persians Conquered Babylon in 539 BCE Spoke Indo-European languageAlong w/ the Medes they moved into present-day Iran by 850 BCE,At first Medes ruled over Persians until Cyrus the Great (Persian ruler) rebelled against the Medes.Cyrus captured Babylon, then the rest of the Fertile Crescent and Asia Minor.Cyrus and later rulers, incl. Darius I and his son Xerxes I expanded the Persian Empire even more.Darius and Xerxes invaded Greece but failed.Persian Empire = mightiest empire to date.

30 Persian Gov’t Persian kings were effective rulers.Great concern for justice.Collected taxes and administered the law fairly.Treated conquered people better than other invading nations.Conquered people could keep their own religion and laws.Secret agents (“the king’s eyes and ears”) kept the king informed.

31 Persian Gov’t Built roads to connect the cities w/in the empire.Ex. Royal Road = more than 1,250 mi long.Led to an increase in ________________.

33 Zoroastrianism Monotheistic Good v. EvilEarth = training for the afterlife.Reward v. punishment. Heaven and HellIn distant future, forces of good would triumph then the Earth will disappear.“the universal struggle b/w good and evil and the idea of final judgment”Thought to have influenced Judaism and later Christianity.